Refractive Index and Microscopic Studies of Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal Films Containing Low Concentration of Liquid Crystals

Abstract

Refractive index and Microscopic studies of polymer dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) containing low concentration of liquid crystal (LC) have shown that LC forms solution with the polymer matrix and modify its basic properties considerably. A minimum amount of LC (dependent on polymer and temperature) needs to be added to the polymer matrix for its effective phase separation to occur and to render good scattering properties to PDLC films. It has also been observed that microdroplets are not stable above the softening temperature of the polymer.